Heating fluids mechanically.



EATENTED AUG. 22, 1905.

No. 79mm.

F J. G-ILROY, HEATING FLUIDS MEGHANIGALLY.

APPLIGIzTION FILED MAY 24:. 1902.

FRANK J. GILROY, OF BUFFALO, NEl/V YORK.

HEATlNG FLUIDS IVIECHANIGALLY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1905.

Application filed May 24, 1902. Serial No. 108,795.

To all whom it ntcvy concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK J. GILnoY, a citizen of the United States,residing at No. 100 Carolina street, Buffalo, in the county of Erie andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful .lmprovements inHeating Fluids Mechanically; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention relates to a method of heating fluids mechanically, and itinvolves forcing the fluid to be heated through a long attenuatedpassage or between very slightly separated surfaces. This method hasbeen practically and successfully used for cooking, heatingapartments,and the like, and experimental temperatures of 780 Fahrenheit have beenobtained with the same apparatus. In the apparatus thus practically usedI have attached to an ordinary aircompressor, such as is used foroperating railway-switches, an out let-valve of brass, adapted todischarge from the compressor a very thin stratum of air through apassage not of uniform cross-sectional area having abrupt change indirection, great internal surface, and devices offering yieldingresistance to increasing the distance between its surfaces; but not allthese conditions are essential to producing useful results.

In the accompanying drawings, which merely illustrate one embodiment ofapparatus for carrying out my method, Figure 1 represents a portion ofan air-comprcssor with my devices operatively connected therewith. Fig.2 is an axial section of a certain valve. Figs. 3 and 4 show the meetingfaces of two coacting members of the same valve.

In the figures, A represents the cylinder of an ordinary air-compressor;B, a plunger therein; 1, an inlet-valve; D, a novel outletvalve; E, apipe inclosing the outlet-valve and leading to any point where theheated fluid is to be utilized.

hi the form selected for illustration the valve .1.) consists of a seatmember F, fixed in the wall of the cylinder and having an axial rod G,supported by arms H, extending inward from the walls of a large centralopening I in the member F. This member is recessed upon its outer sideto receive a second circular member J, loosely yet accurately fittingupon the rod G and normally held against the member F by a spring-coilK, whose tension may be regulated by means of nutsLL working upon thethreaded free end of the rod Gr. The working side of the member J isaccurately turned down to cone-pulley form, so that upon this side themember shows a series of approximately equal steps and consists of aseries of short cylindrical portions whose end faces are planesperpendicular to the axis of the valve. Preferably each of theseportions is provided with a series of slight marginal notches M, thenotches of each portion being between radial lines passing through thenotches of the next preceding or following portion. The working side ofthe seat member F is very accurately recessed to form a seat for themember J, the depth of each cylindricalrecess being such that when thevalve is closed all the end faces of the member J lie in contact withthe corresponding faces of the seat members; but the diameter of each isvery slightly greater than the diameter of the corresponding portion ofthe member J. The pipe E incloses the other portion of the valve and isshown as screwed upon-an annular nipple upon the compressor. 1f thespring be adjusted to press the member J into its seat with moderateforce and if the plunger be forced forward, the compressed air willultimately overcome the force of the spring, move the member J slightlyfrom its seat, and escape into the pipe E on all sides of the valve inan extremely thin stratum which has passed for a long distance betweenslightly-separated surfaces or, in this instance, between thealternating plane and curved surfaces of the valve members. When it thusescapes, it is highly heated, its temperature being far higher than thatof the air in the compressor. The degree of heat depends upon thetension of the spring, which may be regulated at will. The notches areprovided to aid in the even distribution of the air and to insure theequal lifting of all sides of the valve member J.

What I claim is- 1. The method of heating fluids which consists incompressing the fluid to be heated and causing a thin stratum of thecompressed fluid to pass between slightly-separated confiningwalls.

2. The method of heating fluids which consists in compressing the fluidto be heated and causing a thin stratum of the compressed fluid to passbetween slightly-separated confining walls and further subjecting thefluid to numerous changes in velocity during its passage between thewalls.

3. The method of heating fluids which con sists in compressing the fluidto be heated and causing a thin stratum of the compressedfluid to passbetween slightly-separated confiningwalls the direction of flow of thefluid being changed at many points.

4. The method of heating fluids which consists in compressing the fluidto be heated, and causing a broad, relatively very thin stratum of thecompressed fluid to pass over a correspondingly broad frictional surfacewhile strongly pressed against that surface.

5. The method of heating fluids which consists in compressing the fluidto be heated, and gradually decreasing the cross-sections of severalstreams of the fluid under pressure and then allowing these streams tounite and advance as a thin relatively very broad. laterallyconfinedstratum.

6. The method of heating fluids which consists in compressing the fluidto be heated, and compelling a thin relatively very broad stratum offluid under pressure to advance and causing the thickness of saidadvancing stratum to alternately increase and decrease.

7. The method of heating fluids which consists in compressing the fluidto be heated, and forcing the fluid under pressure through an attenuatedpassage offering frictional resistance to the fluids advance andyielding resistance to lateral expansion of the advancing body of fluid.

8. The method of heating fluids which consists in compressing the fluidto be heated, and forcing the fluid under pressure through a series ofattenuated passages alternating with passages of greater width.

9. The method of heating fluids which consists in compressing the fluidto be heated, and forcing the fluid under pressure through a series ofattenuated passages alternating with passages which vary incross-section under fluctuations of pressure of said fluid.

10. The method of heating fluids which consists in compressing the fluidto be heated and causing it to pass through attenuated, laterallyunyielding passages alternating with a series of connecting-passageseach having a laterally-yielding wall.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK J. GILROY.

Vitnesses:

E. FITZGERALD, P. J. GURRAN.

